Final 2026 MLB All-Star Game Roster Predictions For Starters and Reserves

Zachary D. RymerJul 3, 2026

The voting for the MLB All-Star Game starters is over, and the full roster reveal awaits on Saturday.

After earning the most votes among National League and American League players, respectively, during the first round of voting, Shohei Ohtani and Ernie Clement are locked into the starting lineups. That leaves 31 spots on each side to be filled, and thus 62 spots for us to predict.

There are rules, starting with how every team must be represented at the Midsummer Classic—set for July 14 at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia—by at least one player. Rosters consist of 20 position players and 12 pitchers.

There will have to be injury replacements for luminaries like Aaron Judge and Munetaka Murakami, and more players always drop out at the last minute. Our picks are meant to reflect what the active rosters will look like as of the reveal on Saturday.

Let's get to it.

AL Starting Lineup

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Los Angeles Angels v Arizona Diamondbacks

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Mike Trout

AL Starting Lineup

SS Bobby Witt Jr., TOR
CF Byron Buxton, MIN
DH Yordan Alvarez, HOU
RF Mike Trout, LAA
1B Vladimir Guerrero Jr., NYY
3B Junior Caminero, TBR
C Shea Langeliers, ATH
LF Cody Bellinger, NYY
2B Ernie Clement, TOR*

*AL's leading vote-getter in Phase 1

Notes

-This lineup is largely based on the Phase 2 voting update from Thursday. The only real close race was between Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (57%) and Ben Rice (43%) at first base, and the thinking here is that Vladdy will continue to get more support from a country than Rice will from a city.

-Mike Trout and Byron Buxton are hurt right now, but the chances of both being ready for the All-Star Game seem reasonably strong. Trout especially wants to be there, as you'd expect for a guy whose fondness for Philly is part of his whole brand.

-As he's still weeks away from having his injured shoulder re-imaged, Aaron Judge won't be in the AL's starting lineup. But since Cody Bellinger was only polling three points behind him as of Thursday, there may yet be a Yankees outfielder in the starting lineup.

AL Reserves

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Nick Kurtz

AL Reserves

C Dillon Dingler, DET
C Adley Rutschman, BAL
1B Nick Kurtz, ATH
3B Miguel Vargas, CWS
SS Kevin McGonigle, DET
SS Colson Montgomery, CWS
SS Zach Neto, LAA
LF Randy Arozarena, SEA
LF Riley Greene, DET
CF Julio Rodríguez, SEA
DH Yandy Díaz, TBR

Injured: RF Aaron Judge (NYY), 1B Munetaka Murakami (CWS)

Notes

-Given his .922 OPS and 23 home runs, Ben Rice is probably the biggest snub from this list. But Nick Kurtz is simply having a better season with a .938 OPS, 19 homers and twice as much rWAR as Rice. He's also hot, and with creds earned over the past year as one of MLB's best hitters.

-How about those AL Central infielders? Kevin McGonigle and Colson Montgomery are the best AL shortstops not named Bobby Witt Jr., while Miguel Vargas has impressed as he's broken out with an .839 OPS and 19 homers.

-The AL outfield is a hard puzzle to solve outside the three starters. And with apologies to WAR standouts like Ceddanne Rafaela and Wilyer Abreu, the Randy Arozarena-Julio Rodríguez-Riley Greene trio is just more of a known quantity by way of their respective offensive track records.

AL Pitchers

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Cam Schlittler

AL Pitchers

SP Dylan Cease, TOR
SP Davis Martin, CWS
SP Nick Martinez, TBR
SP Parker Messick, CLE
SP Drew Rasmussen, TBR
SP Cam Schlittler, NYY
SP Michael Wacha, KCR
RP Aroldis Chapman, BOS
RP Brent Headrick, NYY
RP Jacob Latz, TEX
RP Tyler Rogers, TOR
RP Louis Varland, TOR

Notes

-There's a lot that could go wrong with these predictions. It's been a weird season for AL pitchers, and the term "ace" has turned into a Rorschach test accordingly. One could even make a case for J.T. Ginn, who is tied for second among AL hurlers in rWAR despite a 1.225 WHIP and 4.15 FIP.

-Because he leads the AL with a 2.08 ERA and 2.69 FIP, Cam Schlittler is still the best pick to start for John Schneider. But we could have some smoke if the Toronto Blue Jays skipper instead chooses his own guy in Dylan Cease, even if his 128 strikeouts do lead the American League.

-Nothing wrong with that bullpen, though. Only Aroldis Chapman doesn't have a top-five ERA among American League relievers, yet he still has a 1.47 ERA and 0.860 WHIP to show for two seasons in Boston.

AL Team-by-Team Breakdown

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Junior Caminero and Yandy Díaz

ATH (2): C Shea Langeliers, 1B Nick Kurtz

BAL (1): C Adley Rutschman

BOS (1): LHP Aroldis Chapman

CWS (3): SS Colson Montgomery, 3B Miguel Vargas, SP Davis Martin

CLE (1): SP Parker Messick

DET (3): C Dillon Dingler, SS Kevin McGonigle, LF Riley Greene

HOU (1): DH Yordan Alvarez

KCR (2): SS Bobby Witt Jr., SP Michael Wacha

LAA (2): CF Mike Trout, SS Zach Neto

MIN (1): CF Byron Buxton

NYY (3): LF Cody Bellinger, SP Cam Schlittler, LHP Brent Headrick

SEA (2): LF Randy Arozarena, CF Julio Rodríguez

TB (4): 3B Junior Caminero, DH Yandy Díaz, SP Drew Rasmussen, SP Nick Martinez

TEX (1): LHP Jacob Latz

TOR (5): 1B Vladimir Guerrero Jr., 2B Ernie Clement, SP Dylan Cease, RHP Louis Varland, RHP Tyler Rogers

NL Starting Lineup

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Los Angeles Dodgers v Pittsburgh Pirates

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Freddie Freeman

NL Starting Lineup

DH Shohei Ohtani, LAD*
RF Juan Soto, NYM
LF Brandon Marsh, PHI
1B Freddie Freeman, LAD
C Drake Baldwin, ATL
3B Max Muncy, LAD
SS CJ Abrams, WAS
2B Ozzie Albies, ATL
CF Michael Harris II, ATL

*NL's leading vote-getter in Phase 1

Notes

-Mookie Betts and Andy Pages were within striking distance of CJ Abrams and Michael Harris II as of Thursday, but the wager here is that the Dodgers fanbase won't be powerful enough to come to their aid. After back-to-back World Series titles, anti-Dodger sentiment seems widespread.

-Freddie Freeman and Max Muncy are exceptions, obviously, but for good reason. Muncy is king of a small hill of All-Star-caliber NL third basemen this year. Freeman has name recognition on Matt Olson, and maybe some support from his Canadian peeps as well.

-Anyone surprised that Juan Soto wasn't running away with the lead among NL outfielders? No? Well, maybe he brings that on himself. He's doing his regular .400 OBP, high-power act, yet he's certainly the less charismatic of MLB's pair of $700 million players.

NL Reserves

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Hunter Goodman

NL Reserves

C William Contreras, MIL
C Hunter Goodman, COL
1B Matt Olson, ATL
2B Luis Arraez, SFG
2B Brice Turang, MIL
2B JJ Wetherholt, STL
SS Otto Lopez, MIA
CF Pete Crow-Armstrong, CHC
RF Corbin Carroll, ARI
RF James Wood, WAS
DH Kyle Schwarber, PHI

Notes

-This is with all apologies to Andy Pages, Bryan Reynolds and Brandon Lowe. Each is among the NL's top 15 position players in terms of rWAR, yet each plays in a crowded positional field from which we've picked lone representatives for other teams: Luis Arraez, JJ Wetherholt and Pete Crow-Armstrong.

-Apologies also go out to Xavier Edwards for the snub. He and Otto Lopez have been a delightful pairing for the Marlins. They're two of three players in all of MLB with at least 360 plate appearances and a batting average over .300.

-Lastly, a shoutout to Hunter Goodman for helping make the Rockies watchable. He might be the best-kept secret in MLB, as his 27 home runs put him on pace to join Cal Raleigh as the only catchers in history to clear the 50-homer threshold.

NL Pitchers

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Pittsburgh Pirates v. Philadelphia Phillies

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Cristopher Sánchez

NL Pitchers

SP Chase Burns, CIN
SP Jacob Misiorowski, MIL
SP Eduardo Rodriguez, ARI
SP Chris Sale, ATL
SP Cristopher Sánchez, PHI
SP Paul Skenes, PIT
SP Zack Wheeler, PHI
SP Yoshinobu Yamamoto, LAD
RP Jhoan Duran, PHI
RP Raisel Iglesias, ATL
RP Dylan Lee, ATL
RP Mason Miller, SDP

Injured: RP Robert Suarez (ATL)

Notes

-Is Paul Skenes still good, though? He's gone from sub-2.00 ERAs in 2024 and 2025 to a 3.62 ERA this year, with a smattering of true duds here and there. But whatever. He's Paul Skenes, and the real ones (i.e., players and the commissioner) who pick All-Star pitchers know he's still one of the best in the game.

-More generally, what a ridiculous pitching staff this is. The only real bummer is that Jacob Misiorowski is on track to be unavailable, though that could be to the delight of Philly fans. Provided NL skipper Dave Roberts is game, Cristopher Sánchez could have a window to start the Midsummer Classic on his home mound.

-Just because Misiorowski may not pitch doesn't mean there won't be heat coming from NL arms. Mason Miller and Jhoan Duran average over 100 mph on the fastball, and Chase Burns isn't far behind at 97.9 mph.